


Secret Answers

by thegizka



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 11:28:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25968928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegizka/pseuds/thegizka
Summary: One evening after training, Kushina asks Minato an interesting question.Written for Writer's Month Day 5:  Soulmates.Note:  I do not own any aspect of Naruto.
Relationships: Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	Secret Answers

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

Minato paused in his climbing to look at her. Kushina’s face revealed nothing of the intention of her question. She was sitting on a branch just above him, hands folded in her lap and long hair waving gently in the breeze. They’d both finished their training for the day and met up at this spot to watch the sunset. They’d been doing that a lot lately.

He was taking his time replying so she looked at him sharply, ready to defend herself if he was going to make fun of her question. That hadn’t been his intention at all. He shrugged to delay answering and finished his climb to sit next to her.

“Why do you ask?”

It was her turn to shrug.

“Come on,” he encouraged, “I won’t give you any rice balls unless you tell me.”

“Withholding food? That’s low, even for you,” she grumbled, but she was grinning while she teased him. “I just overheard some other girls talking. That’s all.”

“About soulmates?”

“Yes, now give me a rice ball. I’m hungry.”

Minato passed her the bag, knowing she’d take a spicy curry one. Kushina was more likely to ignore their classmates’ gossip than eavesdrop, unless they were badmouthing her or someone she cared about. He wondered what she had overheard in this conversation to pique her interest.

“What were they saying?” he asked, unwrapping a rice ball for himself.

“It was so dumb,” she said around a mouthful of food. “They were reading a magazine article about how to tell if someone is your soulmate and using that nonsense to decide whether the guys they like are their soulmates or not. It was ridiculous.”

“Sounds like it.” He watched her take another bite of food. She always looked so happy when he brought her favorite flavor. She’d never explicitly told him it was spicy curry, but he’d noticed that she always chose it when she could. “I take it you don’t think soulmates exist.”

“Why would they?” Kushina snorted. “Why would there be a law in the universe designating two out of the billions of people in existence have lifelong compatibility? It eliminates all individual agency. We choose who to fall in love with, not the universe.”

“Is it really so unlikely?” He studied her face carefully, mapping the patterns of fading sunlight as they traced her skin. “We don’t choose our chakra nature, but we do choose how to wield it. Perhaps love is the same way.”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t really choose who we fall in love with, do we? But we choose how to love, how to compromise and grow for someone else.”

“That’s just it. We choose how to respond when we fall in love. We could choose to avoid our soulmate, so what’s the point of having one?”

“I don’t think love is that easy to ignore. Besides, you can’t choose how your soulmate responds to you. They might not be that easy to ignore.”

“Are you arguing for the sake of arguing, or do you believe what you’re saying?” Kushina looked at him critically. He shrugged, attempting to avoid an answer yet again.

“Oh my gosh, you do! You think soulmates are real!” She laughed in disbelief.

Minato looked at her. Her eyes sparkled back at him in amusement. He wanted to tell her the truth. He knew soulmates were real because she existed. He wanted to confess that he had been enamored with her since their first day of class together. Her fierceness was beautiful, and he could see her kindness even when she tried to hide it. She could be marvelously unpredictable, and understanding her was the same exciting puzzle as unravelling a new jutsu, only more intriguing and attractive. Minato knew that he was going to spend every day that he could with her for the rest of his life. He wondered if she felt the same.

“Let’s just say I’m open to the possibility,” he responded, holding in his confession until she was ready to hear it.

“I’m a little surprised,” Kushina said, looking at him with something like wonder. “You’re stranger than I thought you were.”

“I think most people would say you’re the stranger one.”

“That’s because you’re quiet. It’s always the quiet ones that people never suspect, but they’re really the weirdest.” She took the additional rice ball that he offered her. She chewed thoughtfully, still studying him. “You’ll have to be more practical if you’re going to beat me and become Hokage first.”

“We’ll see,” he said like he always did. She shrugged and turned back to the view. Minato continued admiring the way the light painted her face until it faded away, leaving the stars reflected in her eyes.


End file.
